We felt the tension: Laudrup's Swansea were pressurised by the prospect of a semi-final tie during Boro win

Swansea manager Michael Laudrup
admitted that the prize of a Capital One Cup semi-final meant his
players felt the tension as they edged past npower Championship side
Middlesbrough.

The Swans reached only a third
semi-final in top-flight cup competitions in their 100-year history
thanks to an 81st-minute own goal from Boro's Seb Hines that secured a
1-0 victory at Liberty Stadium.

It put Swansea into the last four
alongside Bradford - memorable conquerors of Arsenal - and Aston Villa,
while Chelsea meet Leeds in the remaining quarter-final next week.

Tense: Laudrup believes the prospect of a semi-final played on the minds of his team

'It was a very tight game,' Laudrup said. 'It wasn't a brilliant game to watch for the neutral, but it was a tight cup game.

'Everybody had the right attitude,
everybody wanted to win, but I think they wanted it too much (in the
first half). When you want something too badly, you can't do exactly
what you usually do.

'Middlesbrough put pressure on us,
but in the second half we came out and played much, much better. We were
more relaxed and took control of the game.

'It wasn't a game with a lot of great
chances. At Crawley earlier in the competition, we were 2-1 down and
won in the last minute, and the Liverpool game was tight. It happens a
lot in cup games.'

Despair: Seb Hines (left) holds his head in his hands as he deflects the ball past Jason Steele to score an own goal

Not without a fight: The Championship side pushed their Premier League opponents all the way at Liberty Stadium

Swansea resume league business with a
trip to Tottenham on Sunday, but they can head to north London elated
at securing a first semi-final appearance in a major cup competition
since 1964.

Laudrup added: 'It's fantastic to reach a semi-final.

'I asked all the players before the game if any of them had played in a cup final, and no-one had.

'When you are three games from a final you get tense, and that is what we saw tonight.

'Everyone can be proud we are in the
semi-finals, but when you are there you want to go the next step and be
in the final. Whoever we play next, it will be very special.'

Middlesbrough went close a few times but couldn't find a breakthrough

Middlesbrough must now pick
themselves up for Saturday's home clash against Wolves, but they will
only have one full day of preparation after a 320-mile journey home from
south Wales.

'Cup competitions are about getting through to the next round, and we didn't manage that," Boro boss Tony Mowbray said.

'It was a tough game, fine margins. I
could easily be sitting here having won 1-0, or having lost 1-0. Credit
to them. They are in the semi-finals of the cup and good luck to them.

'We gave a decent account of ourselves. It was a game we could have won. I don't think there was any time when they cut us open.

'I think the team can take some heart
that if we can get out of this division we are in, we can come into the
Premier League and be positive.

'There is no respite for us, really.
We will try to do a session in the morning before travelling back, then
we have one day's preparation and go again against Wolves, who were
obviously a Premier League side last year.